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Zimbabwe's new currency is U.S. dollar (15th June, 2015)

The Reading / Listening - Level 6

The central bank of Zimbabwe scrapped the country's national currency on Friday and started using the U.S. dollar. The Zimbabwean dollar has for the past decade become more and more worthless because of spiralling inflation. Hyperinflation peaked at an incredible 500 billion per cent in 2008. Since then, Zimbabweans began seeking financial security in the U.S. dollar. Economists estimate that today, 90 per cent of the economy is based on the U.S. dollar. People have until September to exchange their remaining local currency for the U.S. dollar. The official exchange rate is one U.S. dollar to 35 quadrillion Zimbabwean dollars. That's 35 followed by 15 zeroes.

All is not lost for the old Zimbabwean dollar. The large number of zeroes that make up each denomination of the bills is making them a collector's item online. On the auction site eBay, a 100 trillion Zimbabwean dollar note is getting up to US$35 from bidders. This is nearly one hundred times more than the 40 U.S. cents the bill is officially worth in a bank. One hundred trillion is one followed by 14 zeroes. The 100 trillion dollar bill used to be able to buy a weekly bus ticket. One enterprising Zimbabwean has decided to cash in on the old currency by selling it to tourists. Shadreck Gutuza, a former currency trader, said it was a waste of time to cash it in at the banks when tourists will buy the notes for US$20.

Try the same news story at these easier levels:

Level 4 or Level 5

Sources

http://af.reuters.com/article/topNews/idAFKBN0OT0AS20150613?sp=true
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/zimbabwe-ditches-worthless-currency-dollar-article-1.2256966
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2015/06/13/count-zeroes-zimbabwe-central-bank-allows-banknote-exchange/

Make sure you try all of the online activities for this reading and listening - There are dictations, multiple choice, drag and drop activities, crosswords, hangman, flash cards, matching activities and a whole lot more. Please enjoy :-)

The 40 Lesson Activities on the PDF Handout

WARM-UPS

1. CURRENCIES: Students walk around the class and talk to other students about currencies. Change partners often and share your findings.

2. CHAT: In pairs / groups, talk about these topics or words from the article. What will the article say about them? What can you say about these words and your life?

central bank / national currency / the past decade / worthless / financial security / zeroes / collector's item / a quadrillion / weekly / bus ticket / tourists / trader / cash

Have a chat about the topics you liked. Change topics and partners frequently.

3. NUMBERS: What are these numbers used for? Complete this table with your partner(s). Change partners often and share what you wrote.

	How many zeroes?	Uses?
Hundreds
Thousands
Millions
Billions
Trillions
Quadrillions

4. WORLD CURRENCY: Students A strongly believe it would be better if the world had just one currency; Students B strongly believe this would never work. Change partners again and talk about your conversations.

MY e-BOOK

ESL resource book with copiable worksheets and handouts - 1,000 Ideas and Activities for Language Teachers / English teachers

See a sample

5. MONEY: Rank these with your partner. Put the best ways of paying at the top. Change partners often and share your rankings.

• U.S. dollars (cash)

• Bitcoins (online money)

• Credit cards

• Checks / Cheques

• Mobile phone

• A world currency

• PayPal

• Bank transfer

6. DOLLAR: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with the word "dollar". Share your words with your partner(s) and talk about them. Together, put the words into different categories.

BEFORE READING / LISTENING

1. TRUE / FALSE: Read the headline. Guess if a-h below are true (T) or false (F).

a.	Zimbabwe stopped using its old currency last week.	T / F
b.	Inflation in Zimbabwe was once 500,000,000,000%.	T / F
c.	Over 99% od the Zimbabwe economy already uses the U.S. dollar.	T / F
d.	A quadrillion is a one followed by 15 zeroes.	T / F
e.	The old Zimbabwe currency is now selling to collectors online.	T / F
f.	A 100 trillion Zimbabwean dollar note is getting US$350 on eBay.	T / F
g.	A 100 trillion Zimbabwean dollar note can be cashed for $4 in a bank.	T / F
h.	Tourists are buying 100 trillion dollar bills for US$200.	T / F

2. SYNONYM MATCH: Match the following synonyms from the article.

1.	scrapped	a.	value
2.	decade	b.	bills
3.	spiralled	c.	left over
4.	estimate	d.	rocketed
5.	remaining	e.	fetching
6.	denomination	f.	got rid of
7.	getting	g.	almost
8.	nearly	h.	resourceful
9.	enterprising	i.	10 years
10.	notes	j.	roughly calculate

3. PHRASE MATCH: (Sometimes more than one choice is possible.)

1.	scrapped the country's	a.	by 15 zeroes
2.	for the past	b.	security
3.	spiralling	c.	lost
4.	seeking financial	d.	decade
5.	That's 35 followed	e.	from bidders
6.	All is not	f.	national currency
7.	a collector's	g.	trader
8.	getting up to US$35	h.	item
9.	cash in	i.	inflation
10.	a former currency	j.	on the old currency

GAP FILL

The central bank of Zimbabwe (1) ____________ the country's national currency on Friday and started using the U.S. dollar. The Zimbabwean dollar has for the (2) ____________ decade become more and more (3) ____________ because of spiralling inflation. Hyperinflation peaked at an incredible 500 billion per cent in 2008. Since then, Zimbabweans began seeking financial (4) ____________ in the U.S. dollar. Economists (5) ____________ that today, 90 per cent of the economy is (6) ____________ on the U.S. dollar. People have until September to exchange their (7) ____________ local currency for the U.S. dollar. The official exchange rate is one U.S. dollar to 35 (8) ____________ Zimbabwean dollars. That's 35 followed by 15 zeroes.

past
security
based
quadrillion
scrapped
worthless
remaining
estimate

All is not (9) ____________ for the old Zimbabwean dollar. The large number of zeroes that make up (10) ____________ denomination of the bills is making them a collector's item online. On the auction (11) ____________ eBay, a 100 trillion Zimbabwean dollar note is getting up to US$35 from bidders. This is (12) ____________ one hundred times more than the 40 U.S. cents the bill is officially (13) ____________ in a bank. One hundred trillion is one followed by 14 zeroes. The 100 trillion dollar bill used to be able to buy a weekly bus ticket. One (14) ____________ Zimbabwean has decided to cash in on the old currency by selling it to tourists. Shadreck Gutuza, a (15) ____________ currency trader, said it was a (16) ____________ of time to cash it in at the banks when tourists will buy the notes for US$20.

site
worth
each
enterprising
waste
lost
nearly
former

LISTENING - Guess the answers. Listen to check.

1)	The central bank of Zimbabwe scrapped the country's ______
	a. notional currency b. national currency c. gnash and all currency d. gnashing all currency
2)	become more and more worthless because of ______
	a. spiral in inflation b. spiralling inflation c. spire a ring inflation d. spire ailing inflation
3)	Since then, Zimbabweans began seeking financial ______ dollar
	a. security on the U.S. b. security in a U.S. c. security inner U.S. d. security in the U.S.
4)	People have until September to exchange their remaining ______
	a. locally currency b. localise currency c. local currency d. low call currency
5)	…35 quadrillion Zimbabwean dollars. That's 35 followed ______
	a. buy 15 zeroes b. bay 15 zeroes c. bye 15 zeroes d. by 15 zeroes
6)	The large number of zeroes that make up each denomination ______
	a. of the dills b. of the gills c. of the bills d. of the tills
7)	a 100 trillion Zimbabwean dollar note is getting up to ______
	a. US$35 from biddings b. US$35 from boldest c. US$35 from baddies d. US$35 from bidders
8)	This is nearly one hundred times more than the 40 U.S. cents the bill is ______ bank
	a. officially worth in the b. officially worth inner c. officially worth on a d. officially worth in a
9)	The 100 trillion dollar bill used to be able to buy a ______
	a. weekly bus ticket b. weakly bus ticket c. wee key bus ticket d. weak key ticket
10)	Shadreck Gutuza, a former currency trader, said it was a waste of ______
	a. time to cash it on b. time to cash it in c. time to cashed it in d. time to cash it tin

LISTENING – Listen and fill in the gaps

The central bank of Zimbabwe (1) ___________________ national currency on Friday and started using the U.S. dollar. The Zimbabwean dollar has for the past decade become more (2) ___________________ because of spiralling inflation. Hyperinflation (3) ___________________ incredible 500 billion per cent in 2008. Since then, Zimbabweans began seeking financial security in the U.S. dollar. Economists (4) ___________________, 90 per cent of the economy is based on the U.S. dollar. People have until September to exchange (5) ___________________ currency for the U.S. dollar. The official exchange rate is one U.S. dollar to 35 quadrillion Zimbabwean dollars. That's 35 (6) ___________________.

All (7) ___________________ old Zimbabwean dollar. The large number of zeroes that make up each denomination of the (8) ___________________ them a (9) ___________________. On the auction site eBay, a 100 trillion Zimbabwean dollar note is getting up to US$35 from bidders. This is nearly one hundred times more than the 40 U.S. cents the (10) ___________________ in a bank. One hundred trillion is one followed by 14 zeroes. The 100 trillion dollar bill used to be able to buy a weekly bus ticket. One enterprising Zimbabwean has (11) ___________________ the old currency by selling it to tourists. Shadreck Gutuza, a former currency trader, said it was a waste of (12) ___________________ at the banks when tourists will buy the notes for US$20.

COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS

1.	Which of Zimbabwe's banks scrapped the national currency?
2.	For how long had the Zimbabwean dollar been losing value?
3.	When was inflation at 500 billion per cent?
4.	How much of the Zimbabwean economy uses the U.S. dollar?
5.	How many zeroes are there in a quadrillion?
6.	Where is the old Zimbabwean dollar becoming a collector's item?
7.	How much is a 100 trillion Zimbabwean dollar note fetching on eBay?
8.	How much is a 100 trillion Zimbabwean dollar note worth in a bank?
9.	What did a 100 trillion Zimbabwean dollar note used to be able to buy?
10.	Who is buying the old notes for US$20?

MULTIPLE CHOICE - QUIZ

1.	Which of Zimbabwe's banks scrapped the national currency?	6.	Where is the old Zimbabwean dollar becoming a collector's item?
	a) ZNB b) the national bank of Zimbabwe c) the central bank d) HSBC		a) China b) online c) the USA d) South Africa
2.	For how long had the Zimbabwean dollar been losing value?	7.	How much is a 100 trillion Zimbabwean dollar note fetching on eBay?
	a) a decade b) a quarter of a century c) 30 years d) a few years		a) US$14 b) US$40 c) US$100 d) US$35
3.	When was inflation at 500 billion per cent?	8.	How much is a 100 trillion Zimbabwean dollar note worth in a bank?
	a) 2005 b) 2006 c) 2007 d) 2008		a) 50 US cents b) 40 US cents c) 20 US cents d) 30 US cents
4.	How much of the Zimbabwean economy uses the U.S. dollar?	9.	What did a 100 trillion Zimbabwean dollar note used to be able to buy?
	a) all of it b) 90% c) half d) three-quarters		a) a bus ticket b) a chicken curry c) a house d) a newspaper
5.	How many zeroes are there in a quadrillion?	10.	Who is buying the old notes for US$20?
	a) 16 b) 13 c) 15 d) 14		a) bidders b) currency traders c) bankers d) tourists

ROLE PLAY

Role A – U.S. dollars

You think U.S. dollars are the best way of paying for things. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them why their ways aren't so good. Also, tell the others which is the least useful of these (and why): credit cards, Bitcoins or PayPal.

Role B – Credit cards

You think credit cards are the best way of paying for things. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them why their ways aren't so good. Also, tell the others which is the least useful of these (and why): U.S. dollars, Bitcoins or PayPal.

Role C – Bitcoins

You think Bitcoins are the best way of paying for things. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them why their ways aren't so good. Also, tell the others which is the least useful of these (and why): credit cards, U.S. dollars or PayPal.

Role D – PayPal

You think PayPal is the best way of paying for things. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them why their ways aren't so good. Also, tell the others which is the least useful of these (and why): credit cards, Bitcoins or U.S. dollars.

AFTER READING / LISTENING

1. WORD SEARCH: Look in your dictionary / computer to find collocates, other meanings, information, synonyms … for the words 'national' and 'currency'.

national

currency

Share your findings with your partners.

Make questions using the words you found.
Ask your partner / group your questions.

2. ARTICLE QUESTIONS: Look back at the article and write down some questions you would like to ask the class about the text.

Share your questions with other classmates / groups.
Ask your partner / group your questions.

3. GAP FILL: In pairs / groups, compare your answers to this exercise. Check your answers. Talk about the words from the activity. Were they new, interesting, worth learning…?

4. VOCABULARY: Circle any words you do not understand. In groups, pool unknown words and use dictionaries to find their meanings.

5. TEST EACH OTHER: Look at the words below. With your partner, try to recall how they were used in the text:

Friday
past
peaked
seeking
based
followed

lost
online
getting
worth
able
former

CURRENCIES SURVEY

Write five GOOD questions about currencies in the table. Do this in pairs. Each student must write the questions on his / her own paper.

When you have finished, interview other students. Write down their answers.

	STUDENT 1 _____________	STUDENT 2 _____________	STUDENT 3 _____________
Q.1.
Q.2.
Q.3.
Q.4.
Q.5.

Now return to your original partner and share and talk about what you found out. Change partners often.

Make mini-presentations to other groups on your findings.

CURRENCIES DISCUSSION

STUDENT A's QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student B)

1)	What did you think when you read the headline?
2)	What springs to mind when you hear the word 'bank'?
3)	What do you think about your national currency?
4)	What do you think of other countries using the U.S. dollar as their national currency?
5)	What experiences do you have of inflation?
6)	How much financial security do you have?
7)	What do you think of the idea of a single world currency?
8)	Should Zimbabwe have created a new national currency?
9)	Why is the U.S. dollar so popular?
10)	Why are exchange rates between currencies important?

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

STUDENT B's QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student A)

11)	Did you like reading this article? Why/not?
12)	What do you think of the old notes becoming a collector's item?
13)	What do you think of buying things on sites like eBay?
14)	Would you buy the 100-trillion-dollar notes as an investment?
15)	How do you think U.S. dollars will change Zimbabwe?
16)	What's the best thing to do to combat hyperinflation?
17)	How good would it be to work as a currency trader?
18)	Should all money be in digital form, with no notes or coins?
19)	What do you think about money?
20)	What questions would you like to ask Zimbabwe's finance minister?

DISCUSSION (Write your own questions)

STUDENT A's QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student B)
1.	________________________________________________________
2.	________________________________________________________
3.	________________________________________________________
4.	________________________________________________________
5.	________________________________________________________
6.	________________________________________________________

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

STUDENT B's QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student A)
1.	________________________________________________________
2.	________________________________________________________
3.	________________________________________________________
4.	________________________________________________________
5.	________________________________________________________
6.	________________________________________________________

LANGUAGE - CLOZE

The central bank of Zimbabwe (1) ____ the country's national currency on Friday and started using the U.S. dollar. The Zimbabwean dollar has for the past decade become more and more (2) ____ because of spiralling inflation. Hyperinflation peaked at an (3) ____ 500 billion per cent in 2008. Since then, Zimbabweans began seeking financial security (4) ____ the U.S. dollar. Economists estimate that today, 90 per cent of the economy is (5) ____ on the U.S. dollar. People have until September to exchange their remaining local currency for the U.S. dollar. The official exchange rate is one U.S. dollar to 35 quadrillion Zimbabwean dollars. That's 35 (6) ____ by 15 zeroes.

All is not (7) ____ for the old Zimbabwean dollar. The large number of zeroes that make up each denomination of the bills is making them a collector's (8) ____ online. On the auction site eBay, a 100 trillion Zimbabwean dollar note is getting up to US$35 from (9) ____. This is nearly one hundred times more than the 40 U.S. cents the bill is officially (10) ____ in a bank. One hundred trillion is one followed by 14 zeroes. The 100 trillion dollar bill used to be able to buy a weekly bus ticket. One enterprising Zimbabwean has decided to cash (11) ____ on the old currency by selling it to tourists. Shadreck Gutuza, a former currency trader, said it was a (12) ____ of time to cash it in at the banks when tourists will buy the notes for US$20.

Put the correct words from the table below in the above article.

1.	(a)	scraped	(b)	scrapped	(c)	scuppered	(d)	scooped
2.	(a)	worthwhile	(b)	worthless	(c)	worthy	(d)	worth
3.	(a)	inedible	(b)	improper	(c)	impressive	(d)	incredible
4.	(a)	on	(b)	in	(c)	for	(d)	by
5.	(a)	powered	(b)	basted	(c)	levelled	(d)	based
6.	(a)	chased	(b)	pursued	(c)	followed	(d)	ran
7.	(a)	lost	(b)	going	(c)	money	(d)	value
8.	(a)	thing	(b)	invest	(c)	item	(d)	value
9.	(a)	batters	(b)	baldies	(c)	baddies	(d)	bidders
10.	(a)	worth	(b)	value	(c)	money	(d)	invest
11.	(a)	in	(b)	of	(c)	to	(d)	at
12.	(a)	waste	(b)	value	(c)	worth	(d)	spend

SPELLING

Paragraph 1
1.	cpasredp the country's national currency
2.	for the past edceda
3.	more and more hewltross
4.	seeking financial tiyrceus
5.	exchange their igainmnre local currency
6.	The iflfaioc exchange rate
Paragraph 2
7.	each aniooitmnnde of the bills
8.	the ntuiaco site eBay
9.	getting up to US$35 from dresdib
10.	htowr in a bank
11.	One iinpterrsnge Zimbabwean
12.	a fermor currency trader

PUT THE TEXT BACK TOGETHER

Number these lines in the correct order.

( )	inflation. Hyperinflation peaked at an incredible 500 billion per cent in 2008. Since then, Zimbabweans began
( )	seeking financial security in the U.S. dollar. Economists estimate that today, 90 per cent of
( )	the economy is based on the U.S. dollar. People have until September to exchange
( )	by 14 zeroes. The 100 trillion dollar bill used to be able to buy a weekly bus ticket. One enterprising Zimbabwean
( )	has decided to cash in on the old currency by selling it to tourists. Shadreck Gutuza, a former currency
( )	times more than the 40 U.S. cents the bill is officially worth in a bank. One hundred trillion is one followed
( )	trader, said it was a waste of time to cash it in at the banks when tourists will buy the notes for US$20.
( )	their remaining local currency for the U.S. dollar. The official exchange rate is one U.S. dollar
( )	All is not lost for the old Zimbabwean dollar. The large number of zeroes that make up each
( )	denomination of the bills is making them a collector's item online. On the auction site eBay, a 100
( )	U.S. dollar. The Zimbabwean dollar has for the past decade become more and more worthless because of spiralling
( )	to 35 quadrillion Zimbabwean dollars. That's 35 followed by 15 zeroes.
( )	trillion Zimbabwean dollar note is getting up to US$35 from bidders. This is nearly one hundred
( 1 )	The central bank of Zimbabwe scrapped the country's national currency on Friday and started using the

PUT THE WORDS IN THE RIGHT ORDER

1.	national country's the Scrapped Friday on currency .
2.	spiralling more inflation worthless because More of and .
3.	an billion at 500 cent peaked incredible per Hyperinflation .
4.	remaining U.S. the local Exchange currency their dollar for .
5.	U.S. One dollars Zimbabwean quadrillion 35 to dollar .
6.	All lost old not the dollar is for Zimbabwean .
7.	of zeroes that make up each denomination The large number .
8.	trillion hundred . by zeroes 14 is followed one One
9.	on in Cash tourists to it selling by currency old the .
10.	was a waste in at the banks of time to cash it It .

CIRCLE THE CORRECT WORD (20 PAIRS)

The central bank of Zimbabwe scrapped / scraped the country's national currency on Friday and started using the U.S. dollar. The Zimbabwean dollar has for the passed / past decade become more and more worthwhile / worthless because of spiralling / sprawling inflation. Hyperinflation peaked at an incredible / incredibly 500 billion per cent in 2008. Since then, Zimbabweans began soaking / seeking financial security in the U.S. dollar. Economists estimate / estimation that today, 90 per cent of the economy is based / biased on the U.S. dollar. People have until September to exchange their remaining / reminding local currency for the U.S. dollar. The official exchange ratio / rate is one U.S. dollar to 35 quadrillion Zimbabwean dollars. That's 35 followed by 15 zeroes.

All is not last / lost for the old Zimbabwean dollar. The large number of zeroes that make up each denomination / delineation of the bills is making them a collector's / connector's item online. On the auction site eBay, a 100 trillion Zimbabwean dollar note is getting up to US$35 from baddies / bidders. This is nearly one hundred times more than the 40 U.S. cents the bill is officially / officialdom worth in a bank. One hundred trillion is one following / followed by 14 zeroes. The 100 trillion dollar bill used to be able / ability to buy a weekly bus ticket. One comprising / enterprising Zimbabwean has decided to cash up / in on the old currency by selling it to tourists. Shadreck Gutuza, a former currency tradesman / trader, said it was a waste of time to cash it in at the banks when tourists will buy the notes for US$20.

Talk about the connection between each pair of words in italics, and why the correct word is correct.

INSERT THE VOWELS (a, e, i, o, u)

Th_ c_ntr_l b_nk _f Z_mb_bw_ scr_pp_d th_ c__ntry's n_t__n_l c_rr_ncy _n Fr_d_y _nd st_rt_d _s_ng th_ _.S. d_ll_r. Th_ Z_mb_bw__n d_ll_r h_s f_r th_ p_st d_c_d_ b_c_m_ m_r_ _nd m_r_ w_rthl_ss b_c__s_ _f sp_r_ll_ng _nfl_t__n. Hyp_r_nfl_t__n p__k_d _t _n _ncr_d_bl_ 500 b_ll__n p_r c_nt _n 2008. S_nc_ th_n, Z_mb_bw__ns b_g_n s__k_ng f_n_nc__l s_c_r_ty _n th_ _.S. d_ll_r. _c_n_m_sts _st_m_t_ th_t t_d_y, 90 p_r c_nt _f th_ _c_n_my _s b_s_d _n th_ _.S. d_ll_r. P__pl_ h_v_ _nt_l S_pt_mb_r t_ _xch_ng_ th__r r_m__n_ng l_c_l c_rr_ncy f_r th_ _.S. d_ll_r. Th_ _ff_c__l _xch_ng_ r_t_ _s _n_ _.S. d_ll_r t_ 35 q__dr_ll__n Z_mb_bw__n d_ll_rs. Th_t's 35 f_ll_w_d by 15 z_r__s.

_ll _s n_t l_st f_r th_ _ld Z_mb_bw__n d_ll_r. Th_ l_rg_ n_mb_r _f z_r__s th_t m_k_ _p __ch d_n_m_n_t__n _f th_ b_lls _s m_k_ng th_m _ c_ll_ct_r's _t_m _nl_n_. _n th_ __ct__n s_t_ _B_y, _ 100 tr_ll__n Z_mb_bw__n d_ll_r n_t_ _s g_tt_ng _p t_ _S$35 fr_m b_dd_rs. Th_s _s n__rly _n_ h_ndr_d t_m_s m_r_ th_n th_ 40 _.S. c_nts th_ b_ll _s _ff_c__lly w_rth _n _ b_nk. _n_ h_ndr_d tr_ll__n _s _n_ f_ll_w_d by 14 z_r__s. Th_ 100 tr_ll__n d_ll_r b_ll _s_d t_ b_ _bl_ t_ b_y _ w__kly b_s t_ck_t. _n_ _nt_rpr_s_ng Z_mb_bw__n h_s d_c_d_d t_ c_sh _n _n th_ _ld c_rr_ncy by s_ll_ng _t t_ t__r_sts. Sh_dr_ck G_t_z_, _ f_rm_r c_rr_ncy tr_d_r, s__d _t w_s _ w_st_ _f t_m_ t_ c_sh _t _n _t th_ b_nks wh_n t__r_sts w_ll b_y th_ n_t_s f_r _S$20.

PUNCTUATE THE TEXT AND ADD CAPITALS

the central bank of zimbabwe scrapped the country's national currency on friday and started using the us dollar the zimbabwean dollar has for the past decade become more and more worthless because of spiralling inflation hyperinflation peaked at an incredible 500 billion per cent in 2008 since then zimbabweans began seeking financial security in the us dollar economists estimate that today 90 per cent of the economy is based on the us dollar people have until september to exchange their remaining local currency for the us dollar the official exchange rate is one us dollar to 35 quadrillion zimbabwean dollars that's 35 followed by 15 zeroes

all is not lost for the old zimbabwean dollar the large number of zeroes that make up each denomination of the bills is making them a collector's item online on the auction site ebay a 100 trillion zimbabwean dollar note is getting up to us$35 from bidders this is nearly one hundred times more than the 40 us cents the bill is officially worth in a bank one hundred trillion is one followed by 14 zeroes the 100 trillion dollar bill used to be able to buy a weekly bus ticket one enterprising zimbabwean has decided to cash in on the old currency by selling it to tourists shadreck gutuza a former currency trader said it was a waste of time to cash it in at the banks when tourists will buy the notes for us$20

PUT A SLASH ( / ) WHERE THE SPACES ARE

ThecentralbankofZimbabwescrappedthecountry'snationalcurrency
onFridayandstartedusingtheU.S.dollar.TheZimbabweandollarhasfo
rthepastdecadebecomemoreandmoreworthlessbecauseofspirallingi
nflation.Hyperinflationpeakedatanincredible500billionpercentin200
8.Sincethen,ZimbabweansbeganseekingfinancialsecurityintheU.S.
dollar.Economistsestimatethattoday,90percentoftheeconomyisbas
edontheU.S.dollar.PeoplehaveuntilSeptembertoexchangetheirrem
aininglocalcurrencyfortheU.S.dollar.TheofficialexchangerateisoneU
.S.dollarto35quadrillionZimbabweandollars.That's35followedby15z
eroes.AllisnotlostfortheoldZimbabweandollar.Thelargenumberofze
roesthatmakeupeachdenominationofthebillsismakingthemacollecto
r'sitemonline.OntheauctionsiteeBay,a100trillionZimbabweandollar
noteisgettinguptoUS$35frombidders.Thisisnearlyonehundredtimes
morethanthe40U.S.centsthebillisofficiallyworthinabank.Onehundre
dtrillionisonefollowedby14zeroes.The100trilliondollarbillusedtobea
bletobuyaweeklybusticket.OneenterprisingZimbabweanhasdecided
tocashinontheoldcurrencybysellingittotourists.ShadreckGutuza,afo
rmercurrencytrader,saiditwasawasteoftimetocashitinatthebanksw
hentouristswillbuythenotesforUS$20.

FREE WRITING

Write about currencies for 10 minutes. Comment on your partner's paper.

_____________________________________________________________________________

ACADEMIC WRITING

There should be just one world currency. Discuss.

_____________________________________________________________________________

HOMEWORK

1. VOCABULARY EXTENSION: Choose several of the words from the text. Use a dictionary or Google's search field (or another search engine) to build up more associations / collocations of each word.

2. INTERNET: Search the Internet and find out more about currencies. Share what you discover with your partner(s) in the next lesson.

3. CURRENCIES: Make a poster about currencies. Show your work to your classmates in the next lesson. Did you all have similar things?

4. WORLD CURRENCY: Write a magazine article about having a single world currency. Include imaginary interviews with people who are for and against this.

Read what you wrote to your classmates in the next lesson. Write down any new words and expressions you hear from your partner(s).

5. WHAT HAPPENED NEXT? Write a newspaper article about the next stage in this news story. Read what you wrote to your classmates in the next lesson. Give each other feedback on your articles.

6. LETTER: Write a letter to an expert on currencies. Ask him/her three questions about Zimbabwe's situation. Give him/her three of your ideas on switching to a world currency. Read your letter to your partner(s) in your next lesson. Your partner(s) will answer your questions.

A Few Additional Activities for Students

Ask your students what they have read, seen or heard about this news in their own language. Students are likely to / may have have encountered this news in their L1 and therefore bring a background knowledge to the classroom.

Get students to role play different characters from this news story.

Ask students to keep track of this news and revisit it to discuss in your next class.

Ask students to male predictions of how this news might develop in the next few days or weeks, and then revisit and discuss in a future class.

Ask students to write a follow-up story to this news.

Students role play a journalist and someone who witnessed or was a part of this news. Perhaps they could make a video of the interview.

Ask students to keep a news journal in English and add this story to their thoughts.

Also...

Buy my 1,000 Ideas and Activities for Language Teachers eBook. It has hundreds of ideas, activity templates, reproducible activities for:

News
Warm ups
Pre-reading / Post-reading
Using headlines
Working with words
While-reading / While-listening
Moving from text to speech
Post-reading / Post-listening
Discussions
Using opinions
Plans
Language
Using lists
Using quotes
Task-based activities
Role plays
Using the central characters in the article
Using themes from the news
Homework

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ANSWERS

TRUE / FALSE (p.4)

a

T

b

T

c

F

d

T

e

T

f

F

g

F

h

F

SYNONYM MATCH (p.4)

1.	scrapped	a.	got rid of
2	decade	b.	10 years
3.	spiralled	c.	rocketed
4.	estimate	d.	roughly calculate
5.	remaining	e.	left over
6.	denomination	f.	value
7.	getting	g.	fetching
8.	nearly	h.	almost
9.	enterprising	i.	resourceful
10.	notes	j.	bills

COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS (p.8)

1.	The central bank
2.	A decade
3.	2008
4.	90%
5.	15
6.	Online (eBay)
7.	US$35
8.	40 US cents
9.	A weekly bus ticket
10.	Tourists

MULTIPLE CHOICE - QUIZ (p.9)

1.

c

2.

a

3.

d

4.

b

5.

c

6.

d

7.

b

8.

d

9.

a

10.

d

ALL OTHER EXERCISES

Please check for yourself by looking at the Article on page 2.
(It's good for your English ;-)

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Zimbabwe's new currency is U.S. dollar (15th June, 2015)

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